Since the era of antiquity, athletics has been one of the most popular and popular sports disciplines. The competition not only attracts a gigantic TV audience and full stadiums, but also attracts the attention of many betting fans around the world.
A bit of history
Track and field competitions began to be held a very, very long time ago. Gradually, interest in educating courageous warriors capable of defending their city and state from enemy attacks grew into sports competitions for strength, agility and endurance. Initially, the ancient Greeks used the category “Athletics” for all physical exercises, but after that the discipline was divided into athletics and weightlifting.
One of the oldest track and field sports is running, the first competitions in which date back to about 724 BC. Athletes had to run from one side of the stadium to the other, and they did it naked.
The beginning of modern athletics history is considered to be the running competition in 1837. College students from the English city of Rugby held a tournament with a distance of 2 kilometers. Over time, one run at such a distance was not enough, and the competition program was gradually expanding. Students began to compete in speed at short distances, to run with obstacles, to throw weights, to jump in length and height … This sports discipline so conquered the minds of the British that in the mid-60s of the XIX century, a special body created by fans – the London Athletic Club. In 1896, the first Summer Olympic Games were launched, after which athletics began to develop rapidly throughout the world.
Types of bets on athletics
Unfortunately, athletics bets do not boast such an abundance of line-up and line depth as, for example, football, hockey or tennis.
Race winner. You need to choose an athlete (team, if it is a relay race) who will finish first in a particular race.
Tournament winner. The bet will win if the player correctly predicts the winner of the entire competition, for example, in the all-around, and not the winner of one discipline.
Who’s better. From a pair of athletes, it is necessary to correctly guess who will be faster, higher, stronger.
TOP-3, TOP-5, TOP-10. These markets in the lines of bookmakers can also be called, for example, “will take from 1st to 3rd place”, “will take from 1st to 5th place”, etc. the best.
At major athletics competitions, the bookmaker expands the line. For example, during the Olympic Games, you can find a market for the number of medals of a certain country or bet on whether a new record will be set.
Disciplines for Athletics Betting
- Running over various distances, including obstacles
- Relay races
- Race walking
- High jump, long jump, pole vault
- Shot put
- Throwing hammer, disc and spear
- Decathlon (for men) and heptathlon (for women)
As a rule, the favorite wins in athletics, but this does not mean that you can mindlessly bet on the athlete with the lowest odds.
Athletics competition
Betting on athletics today can be made almost regularly. Many different tournaments are held, both indoors and in stadiums. The following competitions are especially popular with spectators and betters:
- Summer olympic games
- World and European Championships, including for juniors
- World Cross Country Championships
- World Cross Country Championships
- World Race Walking Cup
- IAAF Diamond and Gold Leagues
- IAAF Challenges in All-Around, Race Walking, Hammer Throwing and More
Note, however, not all of these competitions are in the lines of bookmakers.
How to bet on athletics
To prevent the game account from being lost for several bets, it is necessary to correctly approach the selection of an event and be able to analyze a large amount of information. Particular attention should be paid to the following factors.
The physical state. If an athlete has recently suffered a serious injury or has not competed for a long time, the chances are high that he will not be able to perform better.
Statistics of past performances. By viewing the statistical data, you can identify promising young athletes who, from start to start, add up and who lack a few centimeters or tenths of a second to get into the prize-winners. Do not forget about the age-related changes of eminent athletes, who, sooner or later, will yield the pedestal to younger and “hungry” ones.
Motivation. Winning a tournament can significantly improve the financial situation of an athlete. For example, for one gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, an athlete from Thailand was paid by the state a reward of $ 314,000, while athletes from Sweden, Croatia, Norway and the United Kingdom do not receive prize money.
At the same time, not everything is measured in money. Many athletes sleep and see themselves as an athlete who has set a world or national record that no one can beat for a long time.
Competition stage. Strong participants do not need to give their all 100% during qualification – they need to accumulate strength for a powerful breakthrough in the final part of the tournament. Less powerful athletes have to perform at their maximum from the very first start, which can lead to a banal lack of strength when the finish line is closer.
Also, do not forget about the weather conditions and the factor of the home stadium: this can also seriously affect the result, and this also cannot be ignored when choosing a bet.
Which bookmakers to bet on athletics
In the line of not every bookmaker, you can find a deep list of athletics events. If you listen to the reviews and comments of professional players, then it is better to place bets on athletics online on the sites of the BC ” 1xStavka “, ” Parimatch “”.
How do experienced gamblers think the sites of these bookmakers differ?
- The presence of a list for almost every athletics tournament, calculated in dozens of different markets.
- High odds compared to other bookmakers, which is definitely important.
- The availability of useful services and options, for example, the “Statistics”, “Results” sections, the “Cashout” function (not everyone has the latter).
Betting on athletics cannot be called a popular betting direction. Millions of players prefer to flirt with events in football, hockey, basketball, e-sports …
The bookmaker also sees this, which means that he pays less attention to painting for medium and small athletics tournaments and does not always set the correct odds. By the way, this also implies one of the advantages of betting on athletics: it is easier to find valuable bets on such events , which means that the likelihood of being in the black at the distance becomes higher.
However, we do not recommend that novice players concentrate on looking for values: after all, for this it is desirable to have a certain amount of experience and knowledge, in addition, such a game strategy carries certain risks.